Hyundai has revised, re-styled, and upgraded its i20 hatch inside and out, aiming it at new, younger group of customers, with a new look that takes its cues from Hyundai's 'fluidic sculpture' design language, including the hexagonal grille common to all new Hyundai models and completely new halogen headlight clusters.
The bonnet, fender, front bumper - incorporating redesigned fog lights - and wheel design have been updated, to bring this new model visually in line with the rest of the i-range.
At the rear, there's an updated bumper with parking sensors as standard, and restyled tail lights.
The new bumpers add 55mm (30mm in front and 25mm at the rear), taking the overall length to 3995 mm, while wheelbase, width and height are unchanged.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
Three petrol derivatives are available at launch in South Africa, with a possibility of a diesel still to come. Each has a 1.4-litre four-banger for which Hyundai quotes 73kW at 5500rpm and 136Nm at 4200, driving through a new six-speed manual (replacing the previous five-speeder) or four-speed auto transmission.
Minesh Bhagaloo of our sister publication Star Motoring was at the South African media launch this week.
“The 1.4-litre engine is no ball of fire,” he says, “especially at the reef - which is where we drove it - making me wonder why Hyundai chose to discontinue the peppier 1.6-litre option.
“The six-speed 'box also sounds like a great idea, but ratios are short - at 140km/h we were closer to 4000rpm in sixth than I'd like to be.”
Inside, there's a soft-touch dashboard and a whole new centre stack, with more sophisticated switchgear and high-gloss black inserts. Standard kit has also been upgraded versus the outgoing model.
REVISED RUNNING GEAR
The i20's front MacPherson strut and rear coupled torsion beam suspension have been fine-tuned (mostly on European roads) for av tighter, more predictable ride, while the electrically assisted rack and pinion steering has a new setup and has been retuned for quicker, more accurate response.
Structural reinforcements in the dashboard panel, steering column mounting and cowl cross-member reduce road vibration, as do new, three-point inertia engine and transmission mounts.
Simplifying the exhaust system by removing the centre muffler has not only reduced weight but also booming.
“It feels premium,” says Bhagaloo, “and there's more than enough driver satisfaction on offer for the target market it aims to attract.
“Sure, it gets a bit light and hairy at ridiculous speeds, but for regular cruising around the gearbox is soft, the steering (though electric) works well enough, and the suspension soaks up road imperfections amicably.
“It also looks funky, which for that younger market is a must.”
PRICES
i20 1.4 Fluid - R164 900
i20 1.4 GL Fluid a/t - R174 900
i20 1.4 Glide - R176 900
As with all Hyundai cars in South Africa, the new i20 comes with a five-year or 150 000km warranty - including five years' roadside assistance - and a three-year or 60 000km service plan. Service intervals are 15 000km.
Read the full launch story in Star Motoring on Thursday.